{"id":492,"date":"2018-02-06T13:53:58","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T13:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glitterandgraceteens.com\/?p=492"},"modified":"2018-02-06T13:53:58","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T13:53:58","slug":"selfless-or-selfish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/?p=492","title":{"rendered":"Selfless or Selfish?"},"content":{"rendered":"

13\u00a0<\/strong>Now\u00a0before\u00a0the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that\u00a0his hour had come\u00a0to depart out of this world to the Father,\u00a0having loved\u00a0his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.\u00a02\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>During supper, when\u00a0the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,\u00a03\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus, knowing\u00a0that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that\u00a0he had come from God and\u00a0was going back to God,\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel,\u00a0tied it around his waist.\u00a05\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Then he\u00a0poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.\u00a06\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, \u201cLord, do you wash my feet?\u201d\u00a07\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus answered him,\u00a0\u201cWhat I am doing\u00a0you do not<\/em> understand now, but afterward you will understand.\u201d8\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Peter said to him, \u201cYou shall never wash my feet.\u201d Jesus answered him,\u00a0\u201cIf I do not wash you, you have no share with me.\u201d\u00a09\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Simon Peter said to him, \u201cLord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!\u201d\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Jesus said to him,\u00a0\u201cThe one who has bathed does not need to wash,\u00a0except for his feet,[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0but is completely clean. And\u00a0you[b<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0are clean,\u00a0but not every one of you.\u201d\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said,\u00a0\u201cNot all of you are clean.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

12\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>When he had washed their feet and\u00a0put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them,\u00a0\u201cDo you understand what I have done to you?\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>You call me\u00a0Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,\u00a0you also ought to wash one another’s feet.\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For I have given you an example,\u00a0that you also should do just as I have done to you.\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Truly, truly, I say to you,\u00a0a servant[c<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>If you know these things,\u00a0blessed are you if you do them.” John 13:1-17<\/em><\/p>\n

In John 13, Jesus shows us true humility and selflessness. Jesus was preparing for the end of His life on this Earth, yet instead of laying around in self-pity or finishing off his \u201cbucket list\u201d with a bunch of crazy adventures, Jesus did something completely selfless. Jesus stood up from the table and started to wash His disciples feet. One by one he washed each of his disciples\u2019 feet knowing that each of them would deny Him soon after. Can you imagine washing the feet of your enemies? Jesus loved His disciples unconditionally and He knew that they would betray Him and turn their back on Him before His death, yet He looked past that and selflessly washed their feet.<\/p>\n

Jesus even washed the feet of Judas knowing that He would be the one that turned Him in for his crucifixion. Judas would trade His friend, His Savior for a few coins, yet Jesus washed His feet.<\/p>\n

How hard is it for you to love your enemies or the ones that hurt you the most? In my experiences, people are not always the easiest to get along with. We are all different, and we all have different opinions and attitudes. At times, people can be hard to get along with\u2026some more than others, but we have to remember that Jesus wants us to love them like He does (even when it is hard).<\/p>\n

If Jesus can wash the feet of His disciples knowing that they would betray Him soon after, why can\u2019t we even smile at the ones that hurt us the most?<\/p>\n

I challenge you to pray for your enemies and practice selflessness when it would be much easier to just be selfish and mean.<\/p>\n

Pray for\u2026<\/p>\n